Iran recently announced its aim to export $100 million worth of carpets to the USA per year, following the removal of the US ban on Iranian carpets imports adopted last March. Nasrallah Zada, the Iranian Carpet Merchants Association President, stated that the $100 million target is based on market studies conducted by the Association, A-sharq Al-awsat Daily reported. However, Mr. Zada did not confirm figures released by carpet exporters, which disclose that the US carpet market is estimated at approximately $3 billion per year. Earlier this month, IRNA reported that in a meeting with Iran's permanent representative to the UN, Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian, several Iranian merchants residing in the US voiced their readiness to import carpets from Iran. During the meeting, members of the Iran Carpet Association in the US pegged the total value of Iranian carpets imported to the US at $3 billion.

In the medium-run, Iranian carpet exporters wish to sell $400 million worth of carpets to the American market. In the past 20 years, the famous Iranian carpets have faced stiff competition from other regional countries such as India and Pakistan. The competitive market caused Iranian carpet exports to dip from $1.6 billion in 1994, to the current $700 million. (albawaba.com staff)